Sacking off Virgin Fibre Broadband for Three's 5G Home Router

[greencalx]

Joy, I have all this to look forward to in a couple of months. At least there is now OpenReach FTTP available at my address, so I have some haggling power. But I also have the same password problem - at no point during the service set up process did I create or get given a phone password, and that's what I get asked for when calling them. Really fucking dreading this.

[olliebean]

Both times I chatted with them on WhatsApp, I told them I didn't have such a password when they asked for it, and they asked me for my bank's sort code instead.

[Malcy]

I never remember my password for Vodafone and always get the security questions instead which I never remember either but always get through.

Never seems to be an issue yet with Sky I have to tell people to hang up and try again...

Had BT at the door during the week. 150 mbps for less than what I'm paying now. Was supposed to come back at 8 but never appeared.

Surely they still don't have a monopoly on the OpenReach network though so can hopefully get an upgrade with Vodafone now the wires have been upgraded.

[greencalx]

Surely they [BT] still don't have a monopoly on the OpenReach network though so can hopefully get an upgrade with Vodafone now the wires have been upgraded.

They don't. Loads of people resell on it, with about a factor of 2 variation in price. (In principle the more expensive ones will have lower contention, but who knows in practice).

https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2021/05/comparison-of-uk-isps-on-openreachs-fttp-broadband-network.html

Vodafone also use the CityFibre network, if that's in your area. (it is in mine, but they never activated the cabinet, for reasons which are still to be understood)

[willbo]

I strongly recomend noone go with Three. I had a dongle with them for years and at least once a fortnight there would simply be no internet for 1/2 days. They have more customers than they can supply to and they simply let it go down all the time.

[canadagoose]

I strongly recomend noone go with Three. I had a dongle with them for years and at least once a fortnight there would simply be no internet for 1/2 days. They have more customers than they can supply to and they simply let it go down all the time.

If you need an alternative to Three, there's always Voxi, who do quite reasonably-priced data and run on the Vodafone network. Voda can be a bit slow in some small towns in the eastern UK (and also the north of Scotland and Northern Ireland) but is generally OK.

[bgmnts]

In the area I live it is impossible to get fibre and my upload speed is 0.67mbps and download is about 6-8 i think.

I hotspotted it tonight to see if i could get a better speed - as i want to try twitch streaming - and fuuuuck me it was so much faster I was almost in tears.

25mbps downloading a game and an upbload of 5mbps. So i'm getting a Huawei 4g unlimited data router for 11 quid a month. Is that a good investment? Do you just plug it into a plug outlet and it'll connect automatically to the phone mast? Is data good for constant use?

[olliebean]

Honestly, anywhere where the only high speed option is Virgin ought to be put on a high priority list for fibre and/or 5g. I can't even get a 4g router here, and it's painful to see how much better the deals are that other people are getting from anyone other than Virgin.

[canadagoose]

Honestly, anywhere where the only high speed option is Virgin ought to be put on a high priority list for fibre and/or 5g. I can't even get a 4g router here, and it's painful to see how much better the deals are that other people are getting from anyone other than Virgin.

I was looking at internet options at a house for sale I was looking at it (I like doing this, it's a bit of escapism), and I noticed the options were either Virgin or 6Mb/s ADSL. No Openreach VDSL or fibre and no CityFibre. This was in EH4 too, so not exactly out in the sticks. Strange how there's no obligation to provide some kind of decent competition.

[Malcy]

I'm really surprised at the amount of customers that come through to me in London who are getting 2-3Mbps and that is the only option.

I just assumed that would have been a priority for the upgrades.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I was looking at internet options at a house for sale I was looking at it (I like doing this, it's a bit of escapism), and I noticed the options were either Virgin or 6Mb/s ADSL. No Openreach VDSL or fibre and no CityFibre. This was in EH4 too, so not exactly out in the sticks. Strange how there's no obligation to provide some kind of decent competition.

It could be that they're on a direct line to the exchange with no street cab, BT don't seem to want to do VDSL on those.

[olliebean]

It could be that they're on a direct line to the exchange with no street cab, BT don't seem to want to do VDSL on those.

Yeah, I think that's the situation here. I'm lucky I suppose in that I can get close to maximum speeds for ADSL (i.e., in practice 15-16Mbps), but as I've said the 1Mbps upload doesn't cut it for what we use it for.

[canadagoose]

It could be that they're on a direct line to the exchange with no street cab, BT don't seem to want to do VDSL on those.

We had that problem when we lived in Portobello - the exchange was really close so there was no cabinet to add FTTC to. They ended up building a cabinet after we moved out, and now the street has FTTP anyway so it's no longer an issue. I think the Maybury exchange is still a bit behind, though. For some reason the lines to that exchange are longer than you'd expect.

[bgmnts]

So installed the 4g router right by open window and just getting a green blinking light, indicating 3g. This is despite being in an area with decent 4g coverage.

Same exact download speeds as my usual broadband and possibly a bit higher upload speed haven't tested it yet.

Gutting.

Edit - Literally as I pressed submit it went from green to blue so guess it just takes ages to register the 4g.

Still, broadband actually worse with it in. Download is 10mbps and upload 0.3mbps with a packet loss of 14%, and that's with a WIRED connection straight into the ethernet port.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I'd expect everything to be fairly well pre-configured if you're starting with a new account and router, but when I upgraded my phone recently to a 5g handset I found I had to mess around in my provider's portal and enable 5g to make it work on 5g. So maybe poking around there might give you some options?

[canadagoose]

So installed the 4g router right by open window and just getting a green blinking light, indicating 3g. This is despite being in an area with decent 4g coverage.

Same exact download speeds as my usual broadband and possibly a bit higher upload speed haven't tested it yet.

Gutting.

Edit - Literally as I pressed submit it went from green to blue so guess it just takes ages to register the 4g.

Still, broadband actually worse with it in. Download is 10mbps and upload 0.3mbps with a packet loss of 14%, and that's with a WIRED connection straight into the ethernet port.

Your mast is probably clogged. Also Three is a bit crap for packet loss lately, even on good masts. It's a shame because it could be great if Three actually cared more about their network, but they don't seem to.

[bgmnts]

Your mast is probably clogged. Also Three is a bit crap for packet loss lately, even on good masts. It's a shame because it could be great if Three actually cared more about their network, but they don't seem to.

It did bump up a lot after a few hours fair play. Seeing 30mbps for a few mins was genuinely life affirming but yeah it'll still drop down to 5mbps randomly for ages etc. God knows. Better to have two internets though, one for streaming and one for all else.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I assume you've probably got a minimum term or whatever, but now you've got the gear and when it comes up, check out ID Mobile, it won't be any faster than what you have since it's a virtual network on Three but it seems very cheap. A mate at work who has a direct connection to their exchange uses them.

They're pretty good at sniffing out deals and were on Lebara before that, which uses Vodafone and appears to offer unlimited data if you find frequent issues with Three.

I did tell the guy to look into 5g but he seemed to think there was no coverage for him which I found strange given we live in the same city and I can see about 4 masts with 5g (either new or retrofitted) from my street. One problem he made me aware of there is the routers aren't cheap, and a pain in the arse to try and buy yourself because searching for "5g router" etc brings up shitloads of results for routers with 5g wifi.

[falafel]

It did bump up a lot after a few hours fair play. Seeing 30mbps for a few mins was genuinely life affirming but yeah it'll still drop down to 5mbps randomly for ages etc. God knows. Better to have two internets though, one for streaming and one for all else.

You might want to try Speedify to bond the two together, I live in the arse end of nowhere and have two 4Gs and a shit ADSL running through a raspberry pi with Speedify on it that is then hooked up to my mesh network. Generally much more reliable and faster, though it is technically a VPN and so can occasionally cause issues with some sites and streaming services.

[olliebean]

Your mast is probably clogged. Also Three is a bit crap for packet loss lately, even on good masts. It's a shame because it could be great if Three actually cared more about their network, but they don't seem to.

Speaking of sacking off, Three is definitely for the chop as I'm on PAYG and they're raising their prices next month by ridiculous amounts (up from 10p to 35p/minute, and this is after already raising it from 3p last year, so up by over 1000% in less than 18 months). Anyone got any recommendations for very low usage PAYG mobile networks?

[Dr Rock]

I've just sacked of Virgin Broadband, landline and telly package (gone up to £59 a month, only wanted broadband anyway) for Talk Talk broadband at £23 a month. Is that about right? I rushed into it a bit.

[canadagoose]

Speaking of sacking off, Three is definitely for the chop as I'm on PAYG and they're raising their prices next month by ridiculous amounts (up from 10p to 35p/minute, and this is after already raising it from 3p last year, so up by over 1000% in less than 18 months). Anyone got any recommendations for very low usage PAYG mobile networks?

RWG do a SIM where you top up £5 once and then you get a free allowance every month, forever (well, until they decide to stop it). Seems pretty good - I've got one as a spare.

[olliebean]

RWG do a SIM where you top up £5 once and then you get a free allowance every month, forever (well, until they decide to stop it). Seems pretty good - I've got one as a spare.

That looks fantastic, thanks. 50 free minutes a month will probably be enough for me, and the rates are very reasonable if I ever go over. They seem to have decent reviews, too.

[Dr Rock]

That looks fantastic, thanks. 50 free minutes a month will probably be enough for me, and the rates are very reasonable if I ever go over.

This looks good, but if I just fuck off EE and the debt I owe them, can they chase me down and block the number?

[canadagoose]

This looks good, but if I just fuck off EE and the debt I owe them, can they chase me down and block the number?

I probably wouldn't do this, they won't block the number but they'll refer the debt to a collection agency with all the unpleasantness that involves.

[canadagoose]

That looks fantastic, thanks. 50 free minutes a month will probably be enough for me, and the rates are very reasonable if I ever go over. They seem to have decent reviews, too.

The one thing you do have to do is send them an email to activate the SIM when it arrives (or phone them) - I think the activation system is manual to save money. Good luck!

[aunt mildred]

I just want a payg deal where you can top it up in shops with the pay logo 'put a tenner on that mate' kind of stuff. I don't want any sort of online account for it.

It seems only asda do this now with their 4/4/4 sims (that's 4p/min, 4p text, 4p/1mb) and they are lying bastards and your balance magically disappears every call you make, every text you send I'll be watching you.

I'm on that now and it's comical how much they rip you off. I never use mobile data ever. You ring 0800 numbers which are supposed to be free and it charges you 12-16p/min, even checking your balance which is also supposed to be free costs you 4p. So don't use them is my advice. I also need to get rid.

1p mobile (1p/min, 1p/text, 1p/mb) are good and honest with the usage (from what I've heard - my bro uses them and has also noticed asda/vodafone at it but swears by 1p mobile) but you have to pay online and put a tenner in every four months I think.

Where have all the top up in shops and make a call once in six months to not get cut off deals gone? World's gone to shit, It couldn't possibly be because they weren't making any money out of it and don't want light users who don't use magic money making data at all to be on their network could it?

[canadagoose]

I just want a payg deal where you can top it up in shops with the pay logo 'put a tenner on that mate' kind of stuff. I don't want any sort of online account for it.

It seems only asda do this now with their 4/4/4 sims (that's 4p/min, 4p text, 4p/1mb) and they are lying bastards and your balance magically disappears every call you make, every text you send I'll be watching you.

I'm on that now and it's comical how much they rip you off. I never use mobile data ever. You ring 0800 numbers which are supposed to be free and it charges you 12-16p/min, even checking your balance which is also supposed to be free costs you 4p. So don't use them is my advice. I also need to get rid.

1p mobile (1p/min, 1p/text, 1p/mb) are good and honest with the usage (from what I've heard - my bro uses them and has also noticed asda/vodafone at it but swears by 1p mobile) but you have to pay online and put a tenner in every four months I think.

Where have all the top up in shops and make a call once in six months to not get cut off deals gone? World's gone to shit, It couldn't possibly be because they weren't making any money out of it and don't want light users who don't use magic money making data at all to be on their network could it?

Good luck with that. When my late Granny needed a plan after Virgin Mobile stopped doing PAYG, we switched her to Three so that she could top up in the paper shop, but it ended up costing her quite a lot. Ended up just going with a cheap contract on iD (runs on Three) instead. I heard Lebara do a decent rolling contract for under £5 à month if you ever feel like it.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Are vouchers from shops ok? Giffgaff do proper PAYG still and they claim:

Where can I buy a giffgaff top up voucher?
Almost everywhere. You can buy vouchers from most supermarkets, corner shops, newsagents, petrol stations and Post Offices. As well as loads of other stores who provide ePay, Payzone or PayPoint services.

If you're stuck, ask our friendly community helpers. They'll give you some great pointers. Just make sure you don't share any personal info publicly (like your address).

https://www.giffgaff.com/help/articles/where-can-i-buy-a-giffgaff-top-up-voucher

I use Giffgaff but buy a monthly goodybag (monthly top-up with free minutes/texts/data but no contract) as even for my modest use that seems the best deal.